Vertical shakeout for suspended castings

ABSTRACT

An article shaking apparatus includes a plate across the face of which castings are moved longitudinally in a suspended manner. The plate is inclined from the vertical in a direction transverse to the casting travel and includes means imparting vibration thereto.

United States Patent Campbell 1 Feb. 1, 1972 [S4] VERTICAL SHAKEOUT FOR [56] References Cited SUSPENDED CASTINGS UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] Inventor: W. Wayne Campbell, Columbia, Pa. Rl6,470 l l/ l926 Stoney et al. ..l5/94 3,411,171 [1/1968 Musschoot et al ..15/94 [73] Assignee: Peerless Industries, Inc., Boyenown, Pa.

22 F] d: N 17 1969 Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlin l C 0v AtmrneyEmory L Groff and Emory L. Groff, Jr. [2l] App]. No.: 877,392

[ 1 ABSTRACT 52 us. Cl ..15,/94, 214/308 An article Shaking apparatus includes a Plate across the face [51] "322d 43/00 of which castings are moved longitudinally in a suspended [58] mead of Search "15/94. 209/74. 214/308 3i 1 manner. The plate is inclined from the vertical in a direction transverse to the casting travel and includes means imparting vibration thereto.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB I972 SHEEI 1 OF 2 FIG. I.

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INVENTOR W WAYNE CAMPBELL ATTORNEY PATENTED EB F 72 SHEET 2 0F 2 FIG. 3.

FIG. 4.

INVENTOI w WAYNE CAMPBELL ATTORNEY VERTICAL SHAKEOUT FOR SUSPENDED CASTINGS This invention relates generally to material handling apparatus as utilized in the foundry art and more particularly to an improved shakeout arrangement especially for the treatment of medium or large-sized castings.

In foundries, a large portion of the castings is produced by means of sand molds and, after solidification of the poured casting, the sand mold must be broken away from the casting and all traces of this sand, as well as any cores, must be completely removed before subsequent treatment of the castings, such as machining. Customarily, castings are treated by means of a vibratory shakeout apparatus which most often comprises a horizontal or slightly longitudinally inclined table upon which the castings are placed and subjected to vibration in an effort to dislodge and separate the sand and cores from the castings. By any standards, this operation is an expensive and time-consuming one and, especially in the case of the larger castings, it will readily be appreciated that heavy equipment will be necessary in order to lift the castings both onto and off from the top of such a horizontally disposed vibrating table. Another shortcoming of the horizontal shakeout apparatus is the failure of such devices to completely remove all traces of sand and cores from the casting, especially, when considering that in many cases the sand is in the form of hard lumps of a size substantially greater than the size of the perforations in the casting.

According to the present invention, however, there is provided an apparatus for completely separating all residue from the castings and which treatment may be achieved without any separate handling operation of the castings involved. A vertical shakeout apparatus is provided having a shakeout plate which is inclined in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof or to the travel of the castings being treated and wherein separate independent conveyor means are provided for transporting the castings over the face of the shakeout plate in a traveling plane which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shakeout plate.

By providing suitable vibrating means for the shakeout plate, it will be understood that, as the castings are conveyed across the face thereof, a principally horizontal and transverse shaking motion by the shakeout plate against the rear face of the traveling castings will impart a violet vibration of these castings such that all traces of residue therein will be loosened and removed therefrom. It will be appreciated that the subject structure lends itself to ready adaptation to other foundry operations. When a large or medium casting is to be subjected to a shotblast operation, the instant vertical shakeout device may be disposed immediately adjacent to the shotblasting apparatus such that the very same overhead conveyor means may be utilized to transport the castings through the shotblast cabinet as well as the present vertical shakeout, thus eliminating additional material handling operations. l

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved vibrating shakeout apparatus having a vertically inclined shakeout plate.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vertical shakeout apparatus including overhead conveying means for transporting castings in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shakeout plate.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a vertical shakeout apparatus having material handling means disposed in an overhead manner to transport castings across the shakeout plate wherein the casting is suspended in a manner to provide point contact between the casting and shakeout plate.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a shakeout apparatus including a vibrating plate inclined slightly from the vertical in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof and provided with overhead means for moving articles in a suspended manner juxtaposed the face of the plate.

With these and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the improved vertical shakeout of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1; 5

FIG. 3 is an enlarged end elevation view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a transverse view, partly in section, of the vertical shakeout as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention will be seen to comprise a vertical shakeout assembly including at least a primary section, generally designated 1, and alternatively may include an offset section, generally designated 2, which is integral with the primary section. Associated with the vertical shakeout is any suitable material handling arrangement such as an overhead conveyor, generally designated 3, which will be understood to describe a path passing over the top portion of the vertical shakeout.

A stationary horizontal support 4 is positioned upon a fixed base, such as a foundry floor 5, and presents an upper surface 6 of sufiicient transverse extent to provide fixed mounting means for a plurality of cushion means 7 such as the air mounts illustrated in the drawings. Such air mounts are well known to those skilled in the art and include an air cell providing both a cushioning action and resilient support for the vibrating base 8 of the shakeout apparatus, it being understood that the lower portion 9 of the cushion means 7 is fixedly attached to the upper surface 6 of the stationary support 4, while the upper portion 10 will be fixedly attached to the lower surface of the vibrating base 8.

In order to provide a rigid support for the vertically inclined shakeout plate II, a framework is attached to the upper portion of the base 8 and includes a plurality of vertical braces 12 extending upwardly from the rear 13 of the base, as well as a plurality of angled arms 14 extending from the front 15 of the base to a point juxtaposed the top of the vertical braces 12 such that a rigid triangular framework is provided. It is over the front face of this framework that the inclined shakeout plate 11 is attached and preferably comprises a planar imperforate member having its top edge 16 disposed flush with the top of the framework and its bottom edge 17 disposed below the upper portion of the vibrating base 8. Although a screen, a plurality of spaced-apart bars or rods, or an open gridwork type of plate could be substituted for the disclosed shakeout plate, the illustrated imperforate planar plate is preferred for several reasons. Firstly, the mass inherent with such a plate as illustrated insures sufficient inertia during operation of the apparatus to perform its desired function, namely, that of violently shaking the juxtaposed suspended castings C. Secondly, if a perforate or grid-type plate were substituted, it would be readily apparent that, as the castings C are traversed across the surface thereof, there would be the likelihood of entanglement or jamming between the moving castings and openings in such a plate. Thirdly, there is the problem attendant with the recovery of the sand and cores discharged from the traveling castings and it is only by utilizing an imperforate vertically inclined shakeout plate 11 that the discharged residue will be prevented from accumulating upon the internal structure of the vertical shakeout and will be encouraged to accumulate along a single line below the bottom edge 17 of the shakeout plate.

Located upon the movable portion of the structure, at a point no lower than the base 8, are one or more vibrators 18 which may be of any suitable construction. Such devices are well known and may comprise an electrical motor having an eccentric mass attached to its rotating shaft. By attaching the vibrator 18 to one or more of the vertical braces 12 at a point intermediate to the top edge 16 of the shakeout plate and the top of the vibrating base 8, it will be seen that a significant oscillatory movement will be imparted to the frame structure and its unitary shakeout plate 1 l, which movement results in a pronounced horizontal reciprocation of the shakeout plate 11 in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of this shakeout plate in view of the resilient support provided by the cushion means 7. Quite obviously, any number of the vibrators 18 may be employed depending upon the overall size of the vertical shakeout, it being apparent that the rotating axis of any vibrator will be disposed longitudinally of the plate 11 such that the eccentric mass thereof will swing in an arc transverse to the length of the plate.

Through the operation of the present invention, the specific disposition of the overhead conveyor 3 is quite significant, although the exact conveyor means may be any of many known types. As will be seen in FIG. 2, the line 3 which may represent any suitable overhead trackway, such as a monorail, describes a path passing over the top portion of the vertical shakeout. Transported along this monorail 3 are a plurality of movable carriers 19 each of which is provided with a depending article suspension means 20 which may comprise a rod 21 having a hook portion 22 at its lowest extremity. The castings C are attached to the overhead conveying system 3 by means of this hook 22 at the most convenient point adjacent the casting top 23. The article suspension means 20 is selected to support the castings C in the most advantageous relationship with respect to the face of the shakeout plate 11, as shown most clearly in FIG. 3, wherein it will be seen that the rear face 24 of the casting engages the plate 11 along a point or line contact adjacent the bottom 25 of the casting. Thus, it will be apparent that, as the carrier 19 travels along a line parallel to the top edge 15 of the shakeout plate 11 with but a small portion of the rear face 24 of the casting C bearing constantly against the shakeout plate 11, as the shakeout plate vibrates horizontally or transversely to the direction of travel of the casting, a violent shaking action will be transmitted to the suspended casting which action may be translated as a pivotal movement about the point of engagement between the hook 22 and the casting top 23 such that significantly all of the sand and cores entrapped within the casting are loosened and discharged from the available perforations or openings 26 in the casting. The ultimate shaking action is encouraged in view of the inclination of the castings, which approximates that of the plate 11, and the fact that a significant portion of the casting mass is supported by the suspension means 20, thus permitting a pendulum motion during operation of the apparatus.

Experimentation has revealed that the most advantageous disposition for the shakeout plate 11 is provided when the included angle between the vertical braces l2 and the shakeout plate 11 is approximately 225. The resultant inclination of the shakeout plate thus most favorably produces the maximum vibratory effect upon the castings as they are drawn across the face of the shakeout plate, it being understood that with this arrangement the most favorable location of the pivot point supporting the top 23 of the casting is immediately adjacent a vertical axis extending from the top edge 16 of the shakeout plate. Although an inclination of 225 from the vertical has been found to be most favorable, it will be appreciated that the present shaking action may be achieved when this angle is substantially between l5-30.

The offset section 2 of the instant vertical shakeout may be included as a favorable addition to the primary section 1 when it is desired to associate the present invention with some other operation within the foundry, and particularly when space limitations therein necessitate placement of the overhead conmer t sup ortin said member at an angle inclined from the vertical a ut t e longitudinal axrs of the member, stationary means supporting said base element, resilient cushion means between said stationary means and base element, vibration means associated with said planar member to impart thereto a shaking action in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of said planar member, and conveyor means over said member for transporting cast articles in a suspended manner along the exposed face of said member, said conveyor means located overhead said member at a height and position whereby the lower portion of a cast article suspended from said conveyor means engages said member and is urged against same by gravity while the vibratory force of said member alternately moves the cast article away from the plane of said member.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said planar member is imperforate.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said planar member is inclined between l535 with respect to the vertical.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, including a plurality of vertically disposed braces extending upwardly from the rear of said base element, a plurality of angled arms extending upwardly from the front of said base element and terminating along a line substantially parallel with the top of said braces, and said planar member is attached to said angled arms.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the top edge of said planar member is adjacent the top of said arms and braces and the bottom edge of said planar member overlies the front of said base element.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said vibration means is attached to at least one of said vertical braces intermediate the ends thereof. I

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cushion means comprises air mounts.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conveyor means includes an overhead track provided with suspension means for supporting castings, and said track describes a path vertically aligned adjacent the top edge of said planar member.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said planar member comprises a primary and an offset section whereby the longitudinal axis of said two sections are longitudinally divergent.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said conveyor means includes an overhead track the path of which curves in the direction of said offset section. 

1. Apparatus for separating disparate material from a cast article comprising, an elongated planar member, a base element supporting said member at an angle inclined from the vertical about the longitudinal axis of the member, stationary means supporting said base element, resilient cushion means between said stationary means and base element, vibration means associated with said planar member to impart thereto a shaking action in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of said planar member, and conveyor means over said member for transporting cast articles in a suspended manner along the exposed face of said member, said conveyor means located overhead said member at a height and position whereby the lower portion of a cast article suspended from said conveyor means engages said member and is urged against same by gravity while the vibratory force of said member alternately moves the cast article away from the plane of said member.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said planar member is imperforate.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said planar member is inclined between 15*-35* with respect to the vertical.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, including a plurality of vertically disposed braces extending upwardly from the rear of said base element, a plurality of angled arms extending upwardly from the front of said base element and terminating along a line substantially parallel with the top of said braces, and said planar member is attached to said angled arms.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the top edge of said planar member is adjacent the top of said arms and braces and the bottom edge of said planar member overlies the front of said base element.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said vibration means is attached to at least one of said vertical braces intermediate the ends thereof.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cushion means comprises air mounts.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conveyor means includes an overhead track provided with suspension means for supporting castings, and said track describes a path vertically aligned adjacent the top edge of said planar member.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said planar member comprises a primary and an offset section whereby the longitudinal axis of said two sections are longitudinally divergent.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said conveyor means includes an overhead track the path of which curves in the direction of said Offset section. 